A high street banking revolution is long overdue, but as my colleague Jill Treanor reports, it looks as though it is starting to happen. The Big Four – Lloyds, Barclays, HSBC and RBS – have a stranglehold on retail and small business banking services in the UK, though in the case of the latter three, ordinary British retail banking is just part of their diversified empires, and not necessarily their top priority.

Particularly after the takeover of HBOS by Lloyds, there is too little competition in the retail banking market. The barriers to entry are rightly high, and the regulators must be vigilant in ensuring that the debutants are well-capitalised, well-run and fair to their customers. But new entrants should be a positive force, shaking up the market as First Direct did in its heyday. And it will be interesting to see whether mutuality stages a comeback after the disgrace of the demutualised building societies and their poster child, Northern Rock.